Sheet metal case for mortise lock



March 31, 1970 J. SCHULTZ 4 SHEET METAL CASE FOR MORTISE LOCK Filed Aug. 14, 1968 2 Sheets$heet l J WWOR J. SCHULTZ BY L1 7 ATTORNEYS March 31, 1970 J. SCHULTZ SHEET METAL CASE FOR MORTISE LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 14, 1968 INVENTOR J. SCHULTZ ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,503,234 SHEET METAL CASE FOR MORTISE LOCK Jerald Schultz, Woodmere, N.Y., assignor to Eaton Yale & Towne Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 14, 1968, Ser. No. 752,641

Int. Cl. E05b 9/08 US. Cl. 70451 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to mortise locks, and more particularly to a novel mortise lock case formed from sheet metal material.

Persons who are skilled in the art will appreciate that sheet metal offers certain advantages in manufacturing, and many of the locks that have been designed utilize sheet metal as the material for the lock case. The metal of the case naturally is formed with features supporting the lock mechanism and, where the lock is a mortise lock, the case has a front plate through which the lock is mounted on a door. In order to use sheet metal, the prior art sometimes finds it necessary to design a complex assembly of parts, and in some instances requires rather extensive forming operations, perhaps including drawing of the metal. I now contribute by my invention a novel mortise lock case that will be extremely satisfactory while as sembled'from a few parts that can be very simply formed from sheet metal.

In the concept of my invention, I utilize a member having a simple U-shape to form the peripheral wall of a mortise lock case. A front plate will be secured to the legs of the U-shaped member. A spacer bracket is assembled within the lock case defined by the U-member, and a side plate is secured to the spacer bracket in position against one edge of the U-member. Further, there are locating means that coact between the side plate and the U-member, and a second side plate is secured to the spacer bracket against the opposed edge of the U-member, with locating means coacting also between the second side plate and the U-member.

As a feature of my invention, I utilize a sheet metal spacer bracket that will mount a part of the lock firmly in position within the lock case. As a more detailed part of this feature, I form the sheet metal bracket with simple bends that will offer spaced legs within the lock case, and those legs are formed with openings in which I assemble the lock part.

As a further feature, I secure a spacer bracket, as by screws, to opposed side plates and to a strip forming the peripheral wall of a lock case, thus forming a rugged and effective mounting between the plates and strip and a lock part that may be supported on the bracket.

I have thus outlined rather broadly the more important features of my invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that my contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of my invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception on which my disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of equivalent structures, and it is important to recognize that my detailed description merely sets forth structure that I prefer for carrying out the several purposes of my invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 shows a side view, partly broken away, of a mortise lock utilizing my novel lock case.

FIGURE 2 shows a view on the broken line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 shows an exploded view of parts of my case.

For the purpose of describing my invention, I show my lock case assembled in FIGURE 1 with a lock mechanism that includes a dead bolt 10, and a lock tumbler cylinder 11 having a cam 12 that acts through a retractor hub 13 to operate the dead bolt. The detailed construction of the mechanism is not actually important to an understanding of my present invention, and it is merely necessary to know that my lock case will effectively mount a mortise lock mechanism, as I shall explain.

FIGURE 3 of the drawings best shows the construction of my lock case. Thus, there is a U-member 15 that is formed through bending a simple strip of sheet metal to a U-shape comprising upper and lower legs 16, 17. That member 15 will be dimensioned to form the peripheral wall of a lock case of the size that may be desired. The case also has a pair of fiat side plates 18, 19 that are dimensioned for assembly against the edge surfaces of the U-member 15, and that may very well be formed as duplicates.

Between the side plates 18, 19 I assemble a spacer bracket 20 that is well shown in FIGURE 3. The bracket 20 is formed to fit against the upper leg 16 of U-member 15, and has spaced legs 21, 22 formed on their opposed edges with portions 23 that extend in a lateral direction.

In a medial position on spaced bracket 20 are side parts 24 that will be opposed to the inner surfaces of side plates 18, 19 when assembled and that are formed with threaded openings 25 for accepting assembly screws 26. An upper part of bracket 20 has a further threaded opening 27 for an assembly screw 28. Bracket 20 will fit closely between the side plates 18, 19, preferably with the side parts 24 of the bracket lying in contact with the inner surfaces of the side plates while edge surfaces 29 on the legs 22 also engage those inner surfaces.

Spacer bracket 20 further has openings 30, 31 that are formed in aligned pairs in the bracket legs 21, 22, the openings in at least one leg being screw threaded, for mounting a cylinder fastener screw 32, FIGURES 1 and 2, to which I shall refer later.

As best seen in FIGURE 3, each side plate 18, 19 is formed with a pair of openings 33, 34 for accepting the laterally extending portions 23 on the bracket legs 21, 22. When assembled, as in FIGURES l and 2, the lateral portions 23 will substantially lie against opposed end sur- 3 faces of the openings 33, 34. The assembly screws 26 will extend through openings in the side plates 18, 19 and will engage the openings 25 in the bracket, while screw 28 will extend through an opening in the U-member 15 so as to engage the opening 27 in the bracket.

Further, I mount a post 35 on a rearward corner portion of the side plate 18, as may be done by riveting or by a screw. That post 35 is so positioned as to coact with an inner corner surface of the U-member 15, and has an opening whereby a screw 36 will assemble the opposed side plate 19 to the post 35. Between lower portions of the side plates 18, 19 I mount a post 37 which is somewhat like the post 35, utilizing a screw 38. However, post 37 is positioned to coact with the inner surface of the lower leg 17 on U-mem'ber 15, and has a portion formed with a further threaded opening that accepts a vertical screw 39. I also show post 37 utilized in FIGURE 1 for supporting a cam spring 40 that forms a part of the lock mechanism. By their engagement between the side plates 18, 19 and U-member 15, the posts 35, 37 offer means that locate the U-member and side plates relatively to one another.

A front plate 41, perhaps best seen in FIGURE 3, forms a part of my lock case. For locating the front plate 41 I form each leg 16, 17 of the U-member with a tapered tongue portion 42 that will engage an opening 43 in the front plate. The openings 43 will accept the tongue portions 42 with a clearance that is rather small, but that will permit the plate 41 to rotate somewhat due to the tapered shape of the portions 42. Front plate 41 also has mounting portions 44 that are juxtaposed to the openings 43 and that extend in positions to engage the inner surfaces of the U-member legs 16, 17. Screws 46 will be inserted through openings 45 in the legs 16, 17 so as to engage threaded Openings in the mounting portions 44, holding the front plate 41 in assembled position. The openings 45 are sufficiently large that the screws 46 can move when front plate 41 rotates in a vertical axis, permitting plate 41 to be adjusted to the angle of a bevel on the edge of a door. Due to the particular relation between the tongues 42 and the openings 43 in the front plate 41, the front plate 741 will be held in a properly aligned position and there can be little or no displacement of the plate in a lateral direction when that plate is adjusted.

The front plate 41 has a relatively large opening 47 through which the lock bolt extends, the bolt being guided on a cover plate 48 that is secured by screws 49 to the front plate. When cover plate 48 is removed, the opening 47 of the front plate will allow access to the fastener screw 32, so that the screw can be adjusted. A tail portion 10a on the bolt 10 will be guided on the inner surface of the lower leg 17 of U-member 15, as shown in FIGURE 1.

Turning now to the manner in which lock cylinder 11 will be secured to my lock case, I form each side plate 18, 19 with an opening 50, FIGURE 3, that is screw-threaded for accepting the cylinder. Those who are skilled in the art will understand that threaded cylinder moutings are quite usual, and also that a lock cylinder may be assembled in either side plate opening 50, or there may be a cylinder in each opening, as may be required by the application in which the lock is to be used. However, it should be observed that in my invention the openings 50 are formed in a plate that merely need 'be sheet metal. I have found that No. 13 gauge sheet metal is satisfactory for the purpose.

Between the opening 50 and opening 34 in each side plate, I form a clearance slot 51 for the fastener screw 32. The slot 51, together with the corresponding openings 30, 31 in spacer bracket 20, are aligned in an axis such that the fastener screw 32 will lie in an angular position which is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. The inner end 52 of the fastener screw 32 will then clamp the lock cylinder 11 at a point which actually is within the opening 50, while screw 32 is in position allowing ample clearance relatively to the lock bolt 10 and other parts of the lock.

The side plates 18, 19 are formed with openings 53 for mounting the retractor hub 13, and there naturally may be further openings as may be required for mounting a particular mortise lock mechanism.

I believe it now will be recognized that I contribute a novel and effective sheet metal case for a mortise lock. Extremely simple operations will suffice to form the sheet metal, it merely being necessary to form a few fiat blanks with simple bends and openings. In fact, it will be entirely practical to use sheet metal materials, such as stainless steel, that impose certain limitations on a forming process. Nevertheless, my construction will very effectively offer those features that are important in a mortise lock case. I believe, therefore, that the value of my invention will be understood, and that its merits will be fully appreciated by those skilled in the art.

I now claim:

1. In a lock of the class described, a front plate, a U- member having its legs secured to the front plate and shaped to form the peripheral wall of a lock case, a spacer bracket assembled within the lock case defined by said U-member, a side plate secured by a screw to said spacer bracket and in position against one edge of said U-member, locating means coacting between said side plate and said U-member, a second side plate also secured by a screw to said spacer bracket and in position against the opposed edge of said U-member, there also being locating means coacting between said second side plate and said U-member, and said front plate, U-member and bracket forming with said side plates a complete lock case.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1, including means securing said spacer bracket to one leg of the U-member.

3. In the combination of claim 1, the feature that one of said plates has a threaded opening for the assembly of a threaded lock cylinder thereto, and said bracket formed with a threaded opening in which a fastener screw is engaged for movement against the cylinder to prevent rotation of said cylinder relatively to said plate.

4. In claim 3, th feature that said bracket has spaced legs fitted into openings in the side plate carrying the cylinder, said fastener screw traversing both said spaced legs.

5. The construction set forth in claim 4, in which the spaced legs of said spacer bracket are formed with sur faces against which are assembled the opposed inner surfaces of the side plates.

6. In claim 4, the feature that said U-member, said front plate, said bracket and said side plates are sheet metal parts forming a lock case that is made rigid through the assembly of said sheet metal parts.

7. In claim 2, the feature that one of said side plates has a threaded opening for the assembly of a threaded lock cylinder thereto, said bracket formed with openings in which a fastener screw is engaged for movement against the cylinder to prevent rotation of the cylinder relatively to said plate, said bracket having spaced legs traversed by said fastener screw and seated in openings in said side plate that carry the cylinder, and the spaced legs being formed with surfaces against which are assembled the opposed inner surfaces of the side plates.

8. In a lock case of the class described, a front plate, a U-member having its legs secured to the front plate and shaped to form the peripheral wall of a lock case, sheet metal side plates assembled against opposed edges of the U-member, a sheet metal bracket bent to form legs in spaced relation to each other and assembled between the side plates in the lock case, spacer surfaces formed on opposed sides of said bracket and engaging the inner surfaces of theside plates, at least one of said bracket legs formed with opposed portions engaging openings in the side plates, and means formed on the bracket legs for mounting a lock part, said bracket being effective for holding each side plat and said lock part in a predetermined relation to one another.

9. The combination set forth in claim 8, in which one of said sheet metal side plates is formed with an opening for accepting a lock cylinder, and said bracket legs formed with openings for mounting a cylinder fastener screw in position extending toward the side plate opening that accepts the cylinder.

10. The construction set forth in claim 9, in which said sheet metal bracket has a medial portion secured against an inner surface of said U-member, the legs of said U- member being formed with tongues engaging openings in said front plate, and said tongues being tapered to effect clearance in the front plate openings so as to permit adjustment of said front plate in an angular direction relative to said U-member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,004,510 6/1935 Schlage 70-451 2,330,011 9/ 1943 Schlage 292-16923 2,785,565 3/1957 Schlage 70-451 2,952,150 9/1960 Matzkin et a1. 70-451 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner 10 ROBERT L. WOLFE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

